2010 Magic: The Gathering World Championships Team Finals Match (Extended): Up in Smoke

Tim WilloughbySunday, December 12, 2010

The Extended match in the World Team Finals saw Robert Jurkovic of the Slovak Republic match up his Faeries against the Pyromancer Ascension list of Jeremy Neeman, a potentially tough match for the Australian.

Robert Jurkovic of the Slovak Republic and Jeremy Neeman of Australia battle it out alongside their respective teams.

Neeman was quick to cast his card drawing spells, including cantripping Manamorphose into See Beyond. A Broken Ambitions stopped that, and milled Neeman for four (something he may not have minded). What he was probably slightly more troubled by, though, was the second Thoughtseize, which snagged a second Pyromancer Ascension. Neeman kept digging with Ponder—he was still on just two land, while Jurkovic had quickly risen to four mana available. Another See Beyond came from Neeman, and this time it resolved.

When Neeman cast his fourth Pyromancer Ascension, it met a sigh from Jurkovic. Could he really lose from the position of strength he'd been in all game? Neeman passed. Jurkovic ran in with his team. Neeman had ... nothing. He scooped up his cards having run out of gas just a little too soon for the comeback.

Neeman's first spell was a Ponder, which Jurkovic tried to stop with Spellstutter Sprite, with the Sprite's ability on the stack, Neeman targeted it with Burst Lightning. Jurkovic then used a Peppersmoke on it, so that he would at least get a card. Ponder finally did its thing, and gave Neeman some much needed options on cards.

One interesting element of the sideboarded games in this matchup is that Neeman has the option to sideboard into a Pestermite / Splinter Twin kill, which does not need to worry about graveyard disruption, or keeping permanents on board for any length of time. In sideboarding, Jurkovic had to respect this as a possibility, hence the Peppersmoke seen in Game 2.

With Neeman tapped out, a Bitterblossom was the next attack vector for Jurkovic. He let a See Beyond resolve, and took a little time to update his teammates on his position. The last match going, Jurkovic now knew that he was in the decider. If he won this game then the Slovak Republic would be the World Team Champions. Neeman's Ponder also resolved.